tfmiii wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
Well, I think we have to temper our remarks a bit: Leon Powe, Perkins, Pierce and Rondo all go to the hole and/or do heavy lifting under the offiensive hoop for us. Both Pierce and esp Rondo have been manhandled without calls. Even Garnett gets into it when going for the offensive board, so it is not as black and white 'jump-shooting vs slashing' as some would like it to be. All of them have been getting mauled, but hey, it's playoff basketball. I think the anger comes from the perceived discrepancy between the ruggedness of play on one end and the number of touch fouls on the other.
And all those fouls do more than just give the Hawks easy opportunities to score. It allows them to set their defense - a big key, and to rest their players (they have a shorter rotation). The Celts have been playing the same D for 82+ games - it is a key to their offense and the basic reason for their record. Now - all of a sudden - it results in 30+ fouls?? It is like telling a team that sorry, what you did to get to tthe playoffs will no longer be allowed.
It is a sad commentary on officiating in the NBA that it is so bad that it is hard to tell when a team is getting jobbed or if it is just another bad day at the office for the refs. Part of that is that Stern has basically enabled the refs to call a foul on every play. So you can look at each play individually and say (on most of them) 'well, there could have been a foul there.' The problem is not that there could have been a foul, but the lack of consistency.
It was consistent last night for three quarters (I would say consistently bad) but in the 4th quarter the discrepancy in FTA went 15-2. Are you seriously saying in all the action under the basket and around the ball, the two teams differed in effort and physical aggression to the point that the Cs were basically slugging the Hawks, who were themselves choir boys? Well, of course not. But that is what was basically reflected by the calls. The reason for that was a lot of touch calls that were going one way.
I am one who agrees that the Cs should have won regardless, but nevertheless the discrepancy is pretty striking, right up there with Suns-Sonics in 94(?) and of course lakers-Kings.
There were bad calls going both ways. The one where Smith grabbed the errant pass for a fast break because he outjumped KG and got called for his 5th? Same sort of ticky tacky mess as the PP-Zaza foul.
Go back and watch that fourth on DVR, the Cs weren't driving AT ALL in the fourth, sure they got offensive boards but they weren't TRYING to force the issue with the first shot. Thats why KG took fadeaways and Ray Ray took that ugly long 3.